Copper

Electronics and electrical cabling account for about 75% of total copper use with building construction being the primary user of copper followed by the electronics and electronic industries, transportation, industrial and consumer products.

Commodity	Associated Localities	Total Localities	% Association (commodity)	% Association (Copper)
Silver	6,200	16,938	36.60% of all Silver deposits have Copper.	41.59% of all Copper deposits have Silver.
Gold	5,332	30,389	17.55% of all Gold deposits have Copper.	35.76% of all Copper deposits have Gold.
Lead	4,849	12,318	39.37% of all Lead deposits have Copper.	32.52% of all Copper deposits have Lead.
Zinc	3,423	7,850	43.61% of all Zinc deposits have Copper.	22.96% of all Copper deposits have Zinc.
Molybdenum	931	1,983	46.95% of all Molybdenum deposits have Copper.	6.24% of all Copper deposits have Molybdenum.
Iron	617	8,202	7.52% of all Iron deposits have Copper.	4.14% of all Copper deposits have Iron.
Tungsten	588	2,791	21.07% of all Tungsten deposits have Copper.	3.94% of all Copper deposits have Tungsten.
Antimony	543	1,689	32.15% of all Antimony deposits have Copper.	3.64% of all Copper deposits have Antimony.

* in exploitable quantities, based on associations listed on mindat.org

Pure copper metal is generally produced from a multistage process, beginning with the mining and concentrating of low-grade ores containing copper sulfide minerals (such as chalcopyrite or chalcocite) and followed by smelting and electrolytic refining to produce a pure copper cathode. An increasing share of copper is produced from acid leaching of oxidized ores.

A significant amount of copper is obtained from recycling.

The release of copper into the environment due to mining processes can have a negative impact, especially on aquatic life.

The smelting process can also create pollution with large volumes of low concentration sulfur dioxide potentially contributing to acid rain downwind of smelting facilities.